Northwestern's Craig Moore playing on new level

A couple of school groundskeepers walked through Welsh-Ryan Arena and took a few minutes to tease Craig Moore before he joined Northwestern for practice.

Moore befriended the men during the summer, when he stayed on campus and helped paint the football stadium as a way to make some extra cash and be near the basketball court to put in another kind of overtime.

"You have to get as many shots in as you can," Moore said.

Like his summer job, Moore shaped his game through labor and a makeover. Moore hit a team-record 97 three-pointers last season and leads the Big Ten with 44 through 13 games this season.

He developed his shot every day growing up outside Philadelphia, when his father, Jeff, came home from work as a structural engineer and the two opened the unlocked gym doors at a nearby prep school.

"We would practice until my shot felt comfortable," Moore said.

"Or until my dad wanted to play and was sick of rebounding."

Moore likes to make 100 shots before he leaves the court, a practice habit that contributes to his 43.1 percent three-point shooting. In a victory against Brown in November, he made nine three-pointers to break the school record of eight he set last season.

"What used to be a tough shot, it's now sort of routine for him," coach Bill Carmody said. "You combine that talent with pretty hard work and you get pretty good results."

As much as Moore developed his shot, he also improved his attitude.

As a freshman and sophomore, he let missed shots or turnovers irritate him for an entire game. Coaches reinforced that he needed a level head.

"Now I can roll with the punches," Moore said. "My sophomore year, I had to go through a lot. I was benched like five times. That did a lot. It was a wake-up call."

The Wildcats still are searching for their first conference victory and could use some of Moore's consistency. He aims to make three three-pointers per game, which he averages, but he would rather help Northwestern start winning some basketball games.

"Shooting-wise, I don't care," he said. "As long as we win, I'm happy."

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Craig Moore

Vitals: 6-3, 185, senior.

PPG: 13.4.

FG percentage: 45.7.

3-pt. percentage: 43.1.

Key stat: 35.3 minutes per game.

My favorite game: "Against Michigan last year. I had eight three-pointers, and it was our only victory [in the Big Ten]. In the first four minutes, I had four straight three-pointers. One of the guys said, 'This is like a video game.'"

The player I've modeled my game after: "If I had to say anybody, I'd pick Ray Allen."